For people with potentially fatal heart
conditions, a pacemaker and their physician are the only things that
stand between them and certain death. The problem for some is that
even with a pacemaker their conditions are so severe that they can
still have problems leading a normal life.

A woman in New York
has become the first person in the world to receive a pacemaker
that can communicate wirelessly with a remote monitoring service
that her physician can access. The pacemaker connects with the server
once per day and will alert the patient and the doctor if there is an
issue that could compromise the patient's health.

Carol
Kasyjanski has had a serious heart condition for over 20 years and
she says that the new device has given her more confidence because
only immediate help could save her life if the pacemaker stops
working.

The woman had problems with her pacemaker years ago
that routine tests could not find because it only surfaced when she
passed out. She said, "Years ago the problem was with my lead,
it was nicked, and until I collapsed no one knew what the problem
was, no tests would show what the problem was until I passed
out."

With the wireless pacemaker contacting the server
at least once per day, problems like this are much easier to find and
treat before they can become life threatening.

Dr. Steven
Greenberg from St. Francis' Arrhythmia and Pacemaker Center said, "If
there is anything abnormal, and we have a very intricate system set
up, it will literally call the physician responsible at two in the
morning if need be."

Using the wireless pacemaker allows
about 90% of the routine work during an office visit to be completed
before the patient arrives, allowing the doctor more time to focus on
the patient rather than ordering and getting tests done.

Pacemaker technology has come a long
way in the last few years; in 2006 a pacemaker was developed that
needed no
battery to operate.

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